Feeling the Burn in the Motor City (Revised)
So it seems no one really got my point. So it's gone. The article may still be hanging around in caches somewhere, but I can't help that. I can, however, make what I'm saying clear.
What happened Tuesday was terrible. It was inexcusable and unjustified. But I think it was preventable. As the responsibility for our security falls with our government, a government supposedly of, by and for the people, we need to take a closer look at our roles in the political and social systems in this country. We need to become more involved. Not just when crises like this happen, but all the time. Our government and our society failed to protect us on Tuesday. We need to make sure we will be protected in the future. That doesn't come without participation. The only way we can honor those who died is by changing things so that something like this doesn't happen again. There is a considerable body of evidence out there indicating that a terrorist event like this was imminent, yet nothing was done to prevent it. Let's not just go back to normal, let's fix what broke in the first place and keep things from breaking in the future.
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We deserved this? I'm not sure about that, Jeff. That sentence almost made me amend a "Views stated are the opinions of the individual contributors and not necessarily the opinions of Glorious Noise" but that seems like a puss move, so I'll let it stand as is.However, I personally do not agree that anyone deserved any of this. Not at all. Not even people who would rather watch "Full House" than listen to NPR. No one deserves to be blown the fuck out of a 100+ story building.
"I personally do not agree that anyone deserved any of this. Not at all."I agree completely. No one as an individual did. But our society, at the very least, has itself to blame. We've not only seen something like this coming, but we've been remiss in doing much to prevent it. And more importantly, we as a people are so disconnected from what our leaders do with respect to foreign policy that most Americans have no capacity to understand why this happened. This wasn't the work of some senseless "evil" as Dubya would have us believe, but the work of people (of whom there are many throughout this world) who hate the U.S. for many reasons, some of which are actually valid. While we can argue the "deserve" line, the point is that this might have been averted if "we the people" had a more inclusive and participatory society here in the U.S. that demanded more of our leaders.
With more calm than i usually use I will respond:1.) No one 'deserves' this. That is a cowardly, traitorous idea to promote.thank you.Thank you.
Okay. Gotta love the fact that Blogger lets us bypass the tradional process of letting someone edit what we write before others read it. Also gotta love the Internet and it's ability to let us revise and edit what we write. So I've removed three words from my article. They weren't really essential to the point, and probably more offensive than need be. You can probably figure out what they were, but as I said, they weren't the point, the point is still there. Peace.
No amount of malaise or voter apathy warrants the snuffing out of thousands of lives. If you honestly believe America or Americans "deserved" this tragedy, you are severely disconnected from reality, and it sickens me that the comment system I developed is being used to perpetuate such ignorance.
Here's an interesting article from Salon about the US govt's role in this:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/12/blowback/
And then of course there's the good old Dalai Lama's letter to the prez:
http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/hhdl-letter.htm
Sara's dad.Barb's boyfriend.Julie's sister.Bill's mom.Sally's fiance.And the list will continue. On and on through the anguish of sleepless nights and all-too-normal seeming days, days from which those who are left wish they could awaken from.So what did these people do?Went to work in an office.Decided to take a trip to L.A.Needed to visit a dying relative.Selflessly determined that they would risk--and lose--their lives to save the innocent."We brought this upon our selves"?Let's dismiss the facile cleverness of the MC5 lyric. It doesn't hold. The context is entirely different. It is a slight-of-hand trick while wearing mittens.You marvel at the ability to post things--yes, an ability that was made possible because people in this country had the freedom to come up with things like the Internet that was once DOD and is now in the public domain. An ability that was made possible because people like Andy Grove decided to escape from oppressive governments and to go to the land where they could help engineer the microprocessor that allows you to post. While these may be cracked as being easy examples, in point of fact, they are easy only because they are so common--at least they're common in this country.And I suggest that you should marvel at the fact that you live in a society that permits you to voice your ideas, as abhorrent as many of us find them to be.Is American society perfect? No. And I don't think that you'd find anyone who would say that it is. Do we need to have a more engaged populus? Do we need improved schools? Absolutely. (And on this point, think what you will of the president, you should note that when the events took place yesterday he was at a school and had planned to discuss an education program. Is it a program that you'd be for? It's doubtful. But education is now on the back burner. Swell.)"Let's understand why others around the world hate us so much."You know, I'm not so sure that there are all that many "others...who hate us so much." I am certain that there are dictators and despots who hate us and who, consequently, force their people to despise us.They hate us because we have freedoms, freedoms that are far in excess of anything they can begin to imagine allowing their people to have.Is the amount of freedom we have perfect? Of course not.Rock and roll can't change your life if you have had that life taken from you.
Okay, so I'm taking it on the chin for my interpretation of what happened yesterday. That's okay, I can take it.I'm no less upset by all of this than any of you. But I'm also upset by the reactions of a lot of people I see on TV, in the streets, at my office. People like whoever wrote the sign in the picture that accompanies this article: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/12/bombings/index.html
http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/09/12/bush/index.htmlSalon does it again. One of the only analyses I've read that makes much sense in answering the whys and hows of this terrorist situation. Make sure to click on the link and read the summary of the report on national security. It will blow your mind.
And yes, today I sent them the $30 and signed up for Salon Premium. So that's another thing I can be accused of: I'm part of their cartel.
Personally, I feel it was religious bigotry and hate that caused this crime. The problem with terrorism is that ultimately it's self-defeating. After Irish Protestant terrorists throwing nail bombs at 5-year old girls and now this, people shouldn't be fooled into thinking there is a defensible political position for any of it. These are sociopaths committing hate crimes.It would be one thing if they had attacked a military installation. Even the Pentagon is at least a semi-prepared facility against attack. I don't even feel as bad about that as I probably should. But the WTC cannot in any way be seen as 'our fault'. To say we have ourselves to blame is like telling a rape victim that 'she asked for it' because she wore a mini skirt.
Jeff,I got the point and actually agree. When we ignore what our government does, we reap the seeds they sow. Again, not a defense by any means of what happened, but a warning to keep a close eye on WHY countries hate the US so much.